Australia's 'Respectful Debate' On Same-Sex Marriage Gets Muddier By The Day

There's nothing decent about any of this.

Somehow a vote on people's right to marry who they love has been dragged into even more desperate territory, with two Liberal MPs arguing over a rap song at a football game.

And this debate was supposed to be "respectful".

Remember it's just the third week since the postal vote began. There are six weeks to go.

This week began with the 'yes' campaign denounced over a text message, while on Thursday 'no' advocate Cory Bernardi confirmed to Fairfax he'll robo-call a million households in what he terms "non invasive" market research.

Another surprisingly powerful force for the 'yes' campaign is Tony Abbott's daughter, Frances. Last week she posted on Instagram her decision to vote for marriage equality, and on Monday appeared in a marriage equality ad talking about her close relationship with her aunt, Christine Forster.

A post shared by @notanotherfitnessblogger on Sep 27, 2017 at 8:40pm PDT

Pause to think about that for a second. The daughter of a former prime minister commented on an ugly public spat between politicians, a song and a football game.

Abbott also reportedly gee'd up some young 'no' campaigners by telling them they were standing up for decency, and that whatever the outcome of the vote they may represent the awakening of the "sleeping giant of Australian decency".